Buying a Toyota Yaris

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Here's how to locate a possible leak . Hard to descibe , but will give it a shot . If you look at the back of the engine on the timing chain side you'll notice a large ledge that comes out from the block . Reach over to the backside from the front above the ledge and you'll feel an area with your fingers that goes back in under the upper cylinder head . There is where you should feel the exposed part of the M.L.S. head cylinder gasket . Hopefully you won't discover any oil . Here's another way to find it and then look for oil with tip of your finger(s) . Take a mirror and reach over the backside described and tilt it until you see the black exposed M.L.S. gasket . Will likely need a flashlight or worklight to see it better . It's hidden quite well .
 
The FIT doesn't come with vehicle stability control or traction control standard unless you buy the SPORT (?) model , which will cost you close to $19,000 . You'll also have to pay extra for the floor/cargo mats and cargo cover with the FIT . They also charge you for installation . Think it's over $400 for those items with labor . So , you get more bang for the buck with the YARIS .
 
May want to use this method if purchasing a used YARIS or own one . The leak started early in the life of the engines .
 
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I discovered the leak for both during an oil change and found it had ran down all the way to the top 1/2 of the oil pan(s) . Took pictures of both with a digital camera . The '08 was worse than the 2010 . Probably due to more mileage . Was using 5w30 synthetic at that time for both . Switched back to 5w30 conventional for a few O.C.s ( less than $15 each ) . The 2010 has slowed some . Usually find fresh oil on tip of finger every 150 miles or so . If I would let it go for awhile it would most likely run down the backside of the the timing chain cover and end up on the upper lip of the oil pan ( connected to block ). Maybe starting the synthetic oil early helped to expose the defect from the factory ( sending the M.L.S. head cylinder gasket in to TOYOTA for inspection , made in CHINA ) . Your guess is good as mine . Last , the leak(s) seem to get worse when the transmission kicks down to 3rd gear ( or do it myself ) while going down a hill(s) . Figure due to higher pressure from within . Make any sense ? No compression test was done by the service center . Wish they would have . Will make sure there's one done for the 2010 if / when we take it in for repair at a different TOYO service center . Hate to go through this process again . Still isn't over for the '08 .
 
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When I try to tell or point out where the oil leak is they ( mechanic / service manager ) get peed off and ignore it . It's like telling the doctor what your ail is ( or possibly is ) and it ticks him / her off because they have been through years of schooling for their profession . Have worked on cars for many years now and get to know things . Sorry to go off the path of the original topic . Feel potential buyers need to know of our situation . Hopefully they'll have a better experience with their new or used YARIS .
 
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Over $28,000 of cost for both YARIS which doesn't grow on trees for us . Especially these days . Not including the miles and gas used to get to the dealer service center for the finding of the problem and the fix and the fix for the fix .
 
There aren't any issues with coolant leaking past the head gasket I hope.

It sucks buddy. I feel your pain. Have dealt with a myriad of things like this with my parents cars, the dealer knows about them but assumes the public is stupid, so they treat educated customers a bit harsh because they know what the problems with these cars are and they don't want to fork over the money to fix them under warranty.
 
He said no . But we have our suspicions . Go to the original post I made in AUTOMOTIVE GENERAL for further details . Thanks for your understanding .
 
Last , not long after we bought the new '08 sedan I had to remove part of the dash to fix a loud annoying rattle from the center mounted display . Put sticky back felt at points where it met the dash . Hasn't been a peep since . Have heard of this issue with newer YARIS sedans as well . The other fix was the driver side headlight was aimed way to low from the factory . Did that by aiming car at garage door with head lights on and making adjustment until little lower than the passenger side beem of light on surface . Must of done it right since I / we don't get high beams flashed at us . These cars have their faults , but most all do these days with the cheap plastics ( other parts , materials ) due to more profit that we all PAY for .
 
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one more thing we can say for both models of the YARIS is that they have as much front headroom ( liftback little more than sedan ) as a VERSA , FOCUS , FIESTA ( sedan + 4 door liftback ) , and MAZDA 2 . As for the rear the sedan it has a little more headroom than a FOCUS , FIESTA ( both ) , and MAZDA 2 . The YARIS liftback ( 3 door + 5 door ) has much more head space than the YARIS sedan , FIESTA ( both ) , MAZDA 2 , and FOCUS . Plenty of legroom for both YARIS hatchbacks compared to the FIESTA ( both ) and MAZDA 2 .
 
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I agree. The fiesta is the best choice in the segment. As said already, it's been produced in Europe for years now, same engines, just different manufacturing plant.
 
The 1.5 ltr. for MAZDA has been around for years as well . Had a bluish green '98 MAZDA Protege' sedan with the 4 speed automatic . Plenty of head room and legroom . Was sluggish with a full load . Otherwise good car .
 
Found the MAZDA 2 and FIESTA ( sedan ) 5 speed to have a much smoother engaging clutch and precise shifting than that of the YARIS . We had an '08 5 speed YARIS 3 door and that clutch could be tricky with engagement along with a clunk when putting it into reverse . The FIESTA uses a GL-4 75w-90 synthetic gear oil , while the YARIS has a 75w-90 GL-5 conventional gear oil from the factory , a fairly inexpensive fix for these quirks is to replace the gear oil with a GL-4 75-90 synthetic gear oil such as REDLINE MT-90 or AMSOIL MTG . The manual YARIS clutch fluid and brake fluid share the same resorvoir . Would think the MAZDA 2's gear oil to be the same as the FIESTA . I perferred the MAZDA 2 5 speed over the FIESTA by a small margin . Nice thing about the manual FIESTA is that the brakes are applied automatically when car starts to roll back during engagement , called HILL START ADVANCE . The MAZDA and YARIS don't have this feature . Eventually they may .
 
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I looked at the Yaris today, although I did not test drive it yet. I noticed that there are other significant differences between the Yaris sedan and hatch than just the body styles. The Yaris sedan has nicer seats and offers 6-way adjustments rather than just 4 on the hatch. Also the five-door hatch is NOT available with a manual transmission. The 5-door hatch is also 19 inches shorter than the sedan. The additional seat adjustments make the biggest difference for me in terms of comfort. Is there an option package on the hatch that provides better seats?
 
The 5 door is available with the 5 speed , very hard to find . The rear seat of the hatch recline and can be pushed forward for more area . Below rear carpet of hatch you'll find several plastic pieces that pull up and cover that space . The sedan gives you an arm rest for the rear with a built in cup holder . We find sedan trunk more practical for groceries , baggage , etc..
 
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the interior is nothing to write hone about, especially the integrated radio, which is very ugly. I also looked at the Fit and loved it. The interior is more upscale and better thought out, but I can get a base Camry for the price of a loaded Fit- a little overpriced in my opinion. I have not yet seen the Ford Fiesta or Mazda 2, as they closed the nearest Ford and Mazda dealers in my neighborhood.
 
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